Advice on gaining weight and passing PT?

February 1st, 2010, 07:29 PM

I'm 6'4" and like 150lbs, and I've never been able to gain weight. Last summer I worked out and ate between 6000 and 10,000 calories every day (between food and weight gainer shakes) and didn't gain a **** pound. I don't know how this is medically possible. I took the PT test today in ROTC and failed hardcore in each section.

Does anyone have advice for bulking up? I've ordered creatine and plan to use that along with my workouts, but I guess one of my main questions is how important is resting muscle groups? Should I really rest every muscle group for a day after working on it?

Size has nothing to do with passing a PT test. The lighter you are, is actually better. You dont have to be Arnold but you do have to practice. See what your time and reps are and concentrate on those. There is actually a formula, for every 1lb of weight you lose, you knock 2 seconds off your 1mile time. So the super secret to passing a PT test? Hard work and practice. As for gaining weight, I was always a big fan of Buscuits and Gravy with a Ben and Jerrys chaser!!

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all the pt studs i know are pretty skinny dudes. the bigger guys do well with lifting heavy weights, but as far as knocking out over 100 pushups in 2 minutes, look for the skinny guys. don't worry about gaining weight, just eat tons of protein and carbs and keep working at your pushups, situps, and run. your optimal body weight will follow. some people are just meant to be skinny.

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I'm 6'4" and like 150lbs, and I've never been able to gain weight. Last summer I worked out and ate between 6000 and 10,000 calories every day (between food and weight gainer shakes) and didn't gain a **** pound. I don't know how this is medically possible. I took the PT test today in ROTC and failed hardcore in each section.

Does anyone have advice for bulking up? I've ordered creatine and plan to use that along with my workouts, but I guess one of my main questions is how important is resting muscle groups? Should I really rest every muscle group for a day after working on it?

I'd appreciate any advice anyone has

My body is the same way. I'm about 6'4 170. And gaining weight is very difficult. But I find it hard to believe you ate 6000 to 10,000 calories a day and didn't gain a pound. I'm assuming most of the calories came from the shakes. You really want to put on some pounds, keep up with the same diet and go to a nutrition shop (not GNC) and pick up some pro-horomones. If those dont put atleast 10 pounds on you then you are s.o.l. and will just have to live with your weight.

But I 'm going to have to agree with what everyone else is saying. Just maintain your weight and focus on a 300 PT test score.

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Yeah, most of the calories were from the shakes. I ate as much chicken and fish and protein-rich foods as I could, but it wasn't a huge amount. And no other supplements, just the weight gainer shake.
As far as the exercise routine, I did 3 sets of 12ish on all of the main machines (leg presses, bench, lat pulldown, etc).

I'll stay out of the gym for a while and do nothing but pushups and situps and running, but should I wait a day in between doing pushups? I've heard that if you don't wait a day, your muscles won't have time to rebuild and you won't get anywhere.

Yeah, most of the calories were from the shakes. I ate as much chicken and fish and protein-rich foods as I could, but it wasn't a huge amount. And no other supplements, just the weight gainer shake.
As far as the exercise routine, I did 3 sets of 12ish on all of the main machines (leg presses, bench, lat pulldown, etc).

I'll stay out of the gym for a while and do nothing but pushups and situps and running, but should I wait a day in between doing pushups? I've heard that if you don't wait a day, your muscles won't have time to rebuild and you won't get anywhere.

Also, is creatine allowed by the military?

Unless you are flagged for being underweight, don't worry about getting bigger just yet. You have to pass your PT test. In that light, work on P/U and S/U and running. Google some routines and just work hard.

I could go on all day, but a few quick tips:

- Only the first 30 degrees of the 90-degree sit-up motion focuses on the abdominal muscles (and if you're only going down to your shoulder blades, it's less than that), so your hip flexors are what need the most work (i.e., flutter kicks, leg lifts, adductors).
- Do as many varieties of push-ups as you can. Buy the Perfect Push Up, it works.
- If you're struggling at running at that size, work primarily on your stride (you should be able to fly like a gazelle if you have good form) and your VO2 max (i.e., interval/sprint training - which will also help you not lose too much weight).

On creatine, yes, it's allowed. It'll help you in your P/U and S/U events. Creatine is great and hopefully you'll gain weight with it (I don't gain much, if at all, but it helps me work harder and longer). There are hundreds of creatine products and a dozen-plus different chemical varieties. If you're cost-conscious, just buy straight, bulk creatine monohydrate. Otherwise, try different stuff.

Your body will get used to doing the same exercises over and over and stop making gains. You need to change up your exercises. Also, to gain weight, try using free weights and keep your sets in the 5-8 rep range. As for your diet, your body can only absorb so much protein and anything extra will pass through you. If you have that hard of a time gaining weight, load on carbs and then consume more.

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Well I haven't been flagged for being underweight, but my BMI says I'm underweight. I've been doing pushups every other hour and situps in between, and running when I wake up in the morning. And I do fly like a gazelle, for the first half a mile or so, then I get so winded I feel like I'm going to pass out. I ran cross country in high school, and could knock out 7 miles no problem, but I've been on my *** for the past five years. Should I push myself and run the two miles or start off a bit lighter and work my way up?

Well I haven't been flagged for being underweight, but my BMI says I'm underweight. I've been doing pushups every other hour and situps in between, and running when I wake up in the morning. And I do fly like a gazelle, for the first half a mile or so, then I get so winded I feel like I'm going to pass out. I ran cross country in high school, and could knock out 7 miles no problem, but I've been on my *** for the past five years. Should I push myself and run the two miles or start off a bit lighter and work my way up?

Set aside a time and just knock them all out at once. Bang out a few sets until you reach failure, rest a little, and do it again until you die. If you do P/U until failure today, chances are you won't be able to do them for a couple days. Same with S/U. When you get better at it, do P/U Mo/We/Fr and S/U Tu/Th/Sa or something like that.

With running, it's make sense to be good at one or two miles than seven off the bat. So work your way up. Push yourself until you're about to puke. Slow down, jog, and catch your breath. Repeat and repeat until you can't. If you do 0.5 miles 4-6 times with some rest in between, that's fine. Mix in some longer runs. It'll all help.